This place is all about the views. And when you book a room here, ensure to remember to book at the top level of the hotel. The views are magnificent! I'm not sure there are better views to be had at any other hotel in the major cities around the center of the lake. Ah-mazing!
But really, the view is all your paying for and why you would stay in his hotel! Varenna isn't a cheap town, but this hotel is competitively priced for what it offers, which is amazing views and mediocre amenities.
The rooms are basic and bare, very European and that's totally fine. The bathrooms are basic and bare. No toiletries, but I don't stay at hotels for their toiletries. :) The tram you take from the bottom of the hotel to the top is a little sketch; it kind of feels like it may fall apart or stop mid-way, but it totally worked every time we needed to go up or down. Now, the breakfast is appalling. There's a cappuccino machine, so no fresh cappuccinos! I feel like that's such a standard at basic, three-star hotels, but this place definitely does not have such. Also, the food is just really basic. I can't, however, speak to the food quality from their restaurant as we didn't eat there.
We only stayed one night as we wanted to experience the view, so I can say that that was really all that was necessary. The customer service isn't bad, it's just a really basic hotel with a really spectacular view! We had a balcony that overlooked the entire central area of the lake (Bellagio and Varenna in perfect view). Here, we enjoyed an Italian happy hour of products we purchased just down in the town center of Varenna. It was so relaxing! :)
Another thing to note when considering if you want to stay here or not, is that it's located about 10-15 minutes walking distance from the main center of Varenna (in front of San Giorgio church). This is totally not a big deal, but could be a problem if you're lugging your rolling luggage up the hill to get to the hotel; we ended up hailing a cab as we were not going to be able to push our luggage up the hill. ;) So the location isn't right in town.
Bottom line: this hotel isn't horrible, it just isn't a place I wouldn't choose o stay again. It's meh. read more